11.
The Art of Unity
“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me” ~ Jesus, John 17:21
I begin this chapter with two stories that exemplify the art of unity. Both took place while I was pastoring a “church re-plant” in Los Angeles.
Different Days to Worship — Still the Same God
I like reaching out to other pastors across denominations and the cultural lines we draw. I usually do this no matter where I live and minister, because I understand that we can accomplish far more together than we can alone in the ministry.
The first pastor to respond happened to be a Messianic Jewish pastor. This pastor and his congregation are Jewish by heritage but believe whole-heartedly believe that Jesus is the Messiah and their promised savior. He and I developed a connection and mutual bond through Jesus. The coolest part was that his church met on Saturdays and our church met on Sundays, so it seemed a likely next step to invite each other and our respective congregations to worship together.
At that time, I had been teaching and modeling for the church the amazing concept of unity—that we are not alone in God’s Kingdom, as there are many other believers in Jesus and many different denominations of believers—our common bond is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. My point was to help them understand that all other issues we raise with other believers have no bearing on eternity and where we will spend it.
We planned one weekend for our church to visit his church, sit among his attendees, worship in their style and expression, and have lunch together to